


A Little Red Box

by thatsuperwholockgirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: !!!, Castiel owns a Christmas tree farm alright?, Christmas trees!!!, Christmas-y goodness, Dean and Sam get a tree there, F/M, M/M, The Roadhouse, also Sam has a dog, also also mentions Doctor Who, much cute, very fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-17
Updated: 2014-01-01
Packaged: 2018-01-04 21:43:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1086010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsuperwholockgirl/pseuds/thatsuperwholockgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel Novak and his sister Anna have taken over the family business; The Novak Christmas Tree Farm in upstate New York. Everything changes for a lonely Castiel when Dean and Sam Winchester come tumbling into his life, bickering and laughing and incredibly friendly. </p><p>In the end, Castiel finds a couple of friends that he never really knew he'd been missing.  </p><p>Also, Dean and Castiel find something more than simple friendship in each other and basically live happily ever after.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Tree Fit For a Dog

**Author's Note:**

> This is really just one big fluff ball, okay? I just really love the holidays and this popped into my head when my own family was cutting down a Christmas tree this year. Enjoy! :)

# I.

### A Tree Fit For a Dog

Castiel looks out the window of his office when he hears two men bickering as they’re walking by. He grows curious and leans forward a little more to read their lips and make-out what they’re saying to one another. It looks pretty heated, so maybe Castiel should back off before he hears something that is absolutely none of his business.  


“No, Sammy, c’mon, we gotta get one,” the one in the leather jacket says.

“This is ridiculous; we are grown-ass men looking for a Christmas tree in the first week of December,” retorts the taller one. Castiel chuckles slightly at that and decides that it was probably okay if he overhears some of what they’re saying.

“So what? You’re saying that grown men don’t get Christmas trees? Because that’s a sad state of affairs, my friend,” Leather Jacket says, shaking his head.

The Tall One was about to say something back but they were past the window before Castiel could hear anything else. Castiel steps back from the window to avoid being caught and he takes a seat back at his desk. He doesn’t need people staying away from the tree farm because of the ‘creepy owner’.

He gets back to quietly clicking away on his computer, trying to order more seeds for next year, but he can’t figure the stupid website out. It’s asking who his local distributor is, but that’s the whole point of why he’s on this website; to get seeds that he can’t get at the local place. Castiel has always been technologically challenged and he normally lets Anna take care of the computer stuff. He was just about to give up and shut his laptop when Anna comes into his office.

“There are two men out there who want to talk to an owner,” she says, rolling her eyes. Castiel eyes her curiously before he gets up and shrugs on his coat. “And don’t even ask me what they want because I have no clue.” 

“Oh, alright. Well thanks for telling me; I’ll go deal with them,” Castiel replies while he pushes past her and out into the hallway. He reaches the foyer of the house and pauses to grab his baseball cap off of a nearby coat rack. He opens the door to the frigid air of December and jogs down the steps, shoving his hands in his pockets to combat the cold. Castiel spots the two men that were arguing in front of his window a few minutes ago. They’re the only customers here at the moment, so they must be looking for him.

“Hi, gentlemen, what can I do for you today?” He smiles warmly and looks up at the Tall One. He must be at least four or five inches taller than Castiel and the man would probably make Anna look like a little elf.

“Well we have a few questions about the types of trees and that pretty little red-head told us that you could help us.” Leather Jacket flashes a grin and Castiel suddenly got an odd feeling in his gut.

“Oh, uh, sure. What do you want to know?” Castiel inquires.

“You see, Sammy here has this dog, and we want to know which tree would be best for a dog.”

“My name is Sam,” says the other one, sending a pointed look to his companion. “And I have a German Shepherd. I just don’t want him eating the needles or something and then getting sick.”

“Ah, I see. My advice is to just try to keep your dog from eating the needles. No tree is better than another in that respect; all tree needles will be potentially harmful to a dog or cat.” Castiel fishes for some more information pertaining to pets and Christmas trees but it seems like that’s all he’s got. “If you want to be super-safe, I’d say to get a softer needle tree, one that won’t poke and irritate the skin,” he finishes.

Both men nod thoughtfully and then turn in tandem to look out on all of the trees. Leather Jacket turns back around, meets Castiel’s eyes with his own emerald green ones and sticks out his hand for Castiel to shake.

“Sorry, man, forgot to introduce myself.” Castiel takes the hand that’s offered and gives it a few firm pumps. “I’m Dean Winchester and, as you’ve found out, this is my brother Sam.”

“Nice to meet you,” Castiel replies, smiling again. Their hands drop and Castiel takes a step forward between the two men. “You can follow me this way and I’ll show you some trees that might fit your needs.”

The brothers shrug to one another and follow Castiel out into the field. The mud from the melted snow makes the tire tracks of the tractor that much more sloppy and difficult to navigate as the three weave their way to the Fraser Firs about halfway through the field of trees.

These trees were some of Castiel’s favorites. As he looks around the rows of trees, he draws in a deep breath and a light smile spreads across his face. The Frasers always filled out nicely and they had a good color about them. He could remember being a kid and playing hide and seek with Anna in these very same rows. They were just nice.

Castiel turns back around when he hears a low whistle coming from Dean’s mouth. Dean is then punching Sam in the arm with some remark of ‘always being right’, and Castiel shakes his head. Sam shoves Dean away from him and crosses his arms as if he’s upset, but Castiel does see a small smile flit across Sam’s face for just a second.

Dean starts to walk down the row ahead of Sam and Castiel. Castiel watches him go and silently hopes that he doesn’t slip in the wet grass. Dean stops suddenly and turns around with a lopsided grin on his face.

“Man, Cas, these are really awesome trees,” Dean says as he reaches out to touch some of the branches. “Do you grow these all by yourself?”

“No, actually, uh, my sister Anna-- the red-headed woman from earlier-- helps me out. We also have a few employees that survey the grounds and whatnot,” Castiel replies calmly, although his cheeks redden at the nickname Dean just assigned him. He hasn’t been called ‘Cas’ in God-knows how many years.

Dean nods but quickly turns back around to continue inspecting the trees. Sam is still strolling beside Castiel, trying to avoid all of the mud by sidestepping every big puddle he sees. He’s calmly surveying all the pines surrounding them and he doesn’t seem as impressed as his brother, but he doesn’t seem disinterested either.

The three men have made it through the first row of Frasers and are now on to the next one over. It’s so cold out that Castiel regrets taking his Yankee cap instead of a winter hat to keep his ears warm. He sees Dean rub his hands together every once in a while as they’re walking along. They continue on in a comfortable silence until Sam practically gasps. Castiel watches Sam’s face as his eyes widen and a smile breaks out on his lips.

“This one. This one is perfect.” Sam is already over to the desired tree and checking it for bare spots before Dean even stops and loops back around to them. Dean comes up and claps an approving hand on his brother’s shoulder. Castiel had to admit that it did look like a pretty good tree.

“This is great, Sammy! Couldn’t’ve picked a better one if I had tried,” Dean exclaims as he takes his turn inspecting the tree. It was a big one, maybe seven feet tall, with a straight trunk and virtually no bare spots. Upon further analysis by Castiel, it was deemed that it would, in fact, be dog-friendly.

Castiel was happy that the brothers had found a tree so quickly. It always did his heart good when a family went away happy and buzzing with excitement. Christmastime truly was a great time of year and Castiel was proud to be so closely involved with the holiday. And after all, the tree was one of the most important parts of the Christmas season, right? The answer is yes, in Castiel’s opinion.

The second best part of his job was after the family had found the perfect tree and still stuck around in the barn, drinking eggnog or hot chocolate and sharing past Christmas tree nightmares. He loved those stories.

While the brothers are cutting down their tree, Castiel calls one of the maintenance guys to come up with the John Deere Gator to grab the tree and take it back down the hill. Within minutes the Gator rolls up with Balthazar at the wheel. He's a fantastic employee when he wants to be. Actually, Castiel is pretty surprised that he showed up so quickly; Balthazar always seems to be in the middle of rather inappropriate situations whenever Castiel calls on him. 

Balthazar had always been a close friend of the family and had worked here even while Castiel’s father was still alive. He was a good friend to Castiel, albeit an eccentric guy with strange quirks. One of which included the need to call Castiel by absurd nicknames.

“Hey, Cassie, how’s it going?” Balthazar says as he gets out of the Gator and wipes off his canvas snow pants. Castiel rolls his eyes but smiles anyway.

“I’m fine, Balthazar, and you?” Balthazar swaggers over to the tree that Sam and Dean had in their hands, completely ignoring Castiel’s question, and he lets out a whistle.

“This is nice one, boys,” he says in his accented voice. The brothers smile and murmur thanks before hoisting the tree onto their shoulders. They move over to the Gator and set the tree in the little bed of the vehicle. Sam wipes his hands on his pants before pushing aside the curtain of his shaggy hair up and out of his face. Castiel coughs as a reminder to Balthazar to answer his question.

Balthazar gets the clue and responds with, “I’m great, actually. I was just watching something on TV called _Doctor Who_. It comes from the U.K. but I didn’t really watch a lot of TV when I was younger, if you know what I mean.” He finishes with a lewd wink in Castiel’s direction and the other two men laugh.

“I actually watch Doctor Who,” Dean speaks up, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. “What season are you on?” Balthazar’s eyebrows go up in curiosity at the other man's confession.

“I’m on season four of the new series. Haven’t gotten around to that old stuff, yet,” Balthazar answers, waving his hand in dismissal. And that launches a whole new conversation about the importance of ‘Classic Who’ and that’s about when Castiel kind of checks out of the chatter.

Ten minutes later, the sun is setting and Balthazar drives off with the tree with a honk and a wave. The three men turn and wave back as Balthazar chugs his way down the hill. Dean and Sam are chatting to each other excitedly about where the tree was going to go and what color lights were to go on it and etc. Castiel turns to the brothers with his hands on his hips and a smile on his face.

“Well, are you guys ready to head back down?” The other men nod and follow Castiel back the way they came.

**** 

About an hour later, Castiel sends Sam and Dean off with the tree strapped to their car with twine and hot chocolate in their hands. It had been quite a struggle getting that tree on top of the vintage Impala without Dean yelling about the needles of the tree scratching his ‘baby’. When they all eventually got it up there and bundled down, Dean had blamed Sam for not bringing his truck. Castiel had only sat back and chuckled at the exchange, as he had been doing all day.

Castiel is sad to see Sam and Dean back out of the driveway and leave. He really had fun with them today and it was unexpected and nice. It was great to have yet another satisfied customer, but he sincerely didn’t expect to ever see those brothers again.


	2. A Tiny Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, the work title comes from this chapter, where (as you probably guessed it) Castiel gets a gift from the Winchester boys. Well, Anna sees the gift and freaks out, obviously. It's pretty great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super cute and I'm very happy with this chapter, actually. Thank you for reading and as always, enjoy! :)

**II.**

**A Tiny Gift**

About a week after Dean and Sam had gotten their tree, Castiel finds a small package in his mailbox that didn’t seem to have any stamps on it at all. It was puzzling, but Castiel trudges back up the driveway through all of the newly fallen snow anyway. He stamps his boots on the welcome mat before returning to the warmth of the house.

When his coat has been shed and his boots taken off, Castiel heads to the living room to open the mysterious package. It was certainly peculiar; Castiel didn’t normally get this type of mail. The thing didn’t even have a sender. Perhaps someone had just dropped it in his mailbox instead of mailing it like a normal human being.

The box is wrapped in red metallic-looking paper with a green bow on it. The wrapping looks professional and Castiel nods his head in silent admiration. As he sits down on the sofa and leans back into the cushions, Castiel carefully peels off the paper. Out falls a tiny card that reads _To: Cas_ and Castiel’s heart skips a beat, although that is a little ridiculous.

Inside the rest of the gift, as it seemed to be, were a movie pass and a small bag of those melt-away mints. Castiel pulls those out only to find that there is a picture inside as well. The photo was of Dean and Sam from a week ago both dressed in flannels and jeans. They’re standing beside their new Christmas tree, arms slung around each other’s shoulders and beers outstretched in what seemed to be a toast. On the floor directly next to them is that German Shepherd that Sam had mentioned, sitting up straight and almost smiling.  

Castiel wonders who had taken the photo if both the brothers were in it. They didn’t mention any other siblings or if they had wives or anything, but it’s possible that more Winchesters exist. Castiel knows what it’s like to come from a big family, and he also knows those family members that he would not mention to anybody for various reasons.

Upon further inspection of the background, Castiel thinks that the tree looks rather wonderful in their home, actually. The lights were white and twinkling and there was gold garland all around the thing. However, Castiel found it peculiar that the tree didn’t have any ornaments on it. Perhaps that was just how they did it in their family.

Castiel turned it over, looking for a date but found an inscription instead. _Hang this on your wall of Famous Christmas Trees, or whatever_ was written in black ink on the back of the photo. Castiel smiled when he saw that each brother had signed their own name below the writing and added their respective phone numbers.  This whole thing was such a sweet gesture and the signatures just made it all the more personal and kind.

He likes the picture and he appreciates the thought that was put into it, so he gets up and walks to the kitchen. There he hangs the picture with all the other Christmas cards in the Santa Claus shaped card holder that’s tacked up on the wall. That way he can see it and smile every time he comes into the kitchen.  

A second later he takes it down to take a look at the phone numbers on the back again. He decides that it wouldn’t hurt to have their numbers stored in his phone. Who knew?  Maybe they could become real friends instead of just customers who sent a thank you.  Castiel could certainly use some friends in this world.

It’s not that Castiel minds being alone so much, but Anna is always nagging him about making friends and to ‘take a day off, why don’t you?’. Castiel must admit that he would enjoy kicking back with some buddies, drinking beer and watching football. But he just wasn’t the type of guy to make friends with people; they either approach him or Anna introduces them and they always end up only acquaintances. These situations never seem to amount to much and Castiel is still left lonely.

Just as Castiel is replacing the card back to the holder, Anna comes walking in. She stops and looks at the new picture inquisitively. Anna then turns and raises an eyebrow at Castiel, who is standing in a corner now, a blush creeping up his neck.

“Are these the people from like a couple days ago? They asked to see you?” Anna wonders. Castiel nods quickly but doesn’t say anything.  She’s still eyeing him like he’s the cat that ate the canary and he just shrugs.

All of a sudden, Anna is pouncing on him, getting right in his face. Her hands are on his shoulders and she’s shaking him excitedly. Castiel tries to pull back but to no avail and she just keeps getting closer.

“Have you made _friends_ , Castiel???” Anna asks with eyes wide and mouth in a little ‘o’.  Now Castiel laughs at his sister’s excitement.

“Yes, I suppose I have. Why?” Castiel narrows his eyes at Anna playfully. “Are you _jealous_ , Anna-Banana?”

“No, absolutely not!” Anna scoffs. “I’m just happy for you! It’s not every day you get a friend, Castiel.”

Castiel rolls his eyes at that, even though it is true. He’s not really considering Sam and Dean to be friends yet, but it is nice to think about. Maybe he’ll give them both a call to thank them for the gift and for the thought. Yeah, that seems like the thing to do after Anna gets off his back.

Castiel walks back to the living room in search of the little box to show it to Anna. The whole time Castiel is explaining the gift and taking the separate portions out, Anna is squealing and giggling and patting Castiel on the shoulder. He finally packs it all away and walks to his bedroom. He sticks the box under his night stand and goes back out to the kitchen.

“Oh, Castiel, this is lovely,” Anna gushes once again. “When are you hanging out with them?”

Castiel thinks for a moment on that. Were he and the Winchesters going to ‘hang out’ at some point? Is that what this gift meant? Castiel couldn’t imagine that Sam and Dean would actually want to spend time with him. He was just their Christmas tree salesman and they decided to send a thank you. That’s all; that’s the whole story.

“I don’t know. Probably never. This was just a thank you, Anna, nothing more,” Castiel says dismissively. Anna makes an unimpressed noise and saunters off into the living room. Once there she plops down onto the couch and turns to the DVR. Castiel groans when she presses play on her favorite show, _Days of Our Lives_. Castiel has never much liked soap operas. They were much like bad odors that never quite went away.

By the time he hears the strains of the theme music coming from the stereo speakers, Castiel has escaped down the long hallway to his bedroom. The door is still ajar from his earlier visit and he simply pushes through. Castiel walks to his bed and lays down on it, face first into the pillows. This was always how he liked to sleep as a kid, and he’s never really grown out of it.

While still lying on his stomach, Castiel fumbles for the phone in his pocket. He pulls it out to take a look at the newly installed phone numbers. He turns over onto his side as he’s contemplating calling the brothers to say thanks. Castiel finally builds up the courage to press the button to call Sam’s number and he sits up in the bed.

“ _Hey, this is Sam here. Leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you soon!—Beep!_ ” Castiel groans at the voicemail greeting and presses ‘End’ as fast as he can. He absolutely hates leaving voicemails. There’s always something weird about leaving a recording of your voice that the other person can save if they so choose. And let’s not even get into the many ways he could mess it up and then have the other person have a recording of it. No thank you.

Castiel scrolls back to his contact list in search of Dean’s number now. He figures that if Sam is curious enough to check his recent calls then he could give Castiel a call back if he wants to.  Castiel isn’t going to risk looking like a creep by calling several times. But he wants to contact at least one of them today, while the gift is still new, so he clicks on Dean’s name.

 For some reason, it’s more difficult to press ‘Call’ on Dean’s number than it was for Sam’s. Castiel is not really sure why that is, but his mind is saying that it’s ridiculous and that he should just press the button. Castiel nods to himself in determination and calls Dean.

Unlike Sam, Dean picks up after four rings and it has Castiel panicking. He hates talking on the phone with people; it gets him all flustered.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Dean inquires after Castiel's pause, not angry but slightly annoyed. Now Castiel has gained reuse of his mental faculties and is able to stutter out a response.

“Uh, yes. This—this is Castiel Novak. I, uh received your gift today,” was all he could get out.

“Oh, hey Cas.” Castiel could practically hear the smile in the other man’s voice. _Oh, good Lord_ , Castiel thinks.  “It’s nice to hear from you.”

“Yeah, you too.” _Dumbass_. “I mean, I just wanted to say thank you for the gift. It was very thoughtful and I appreciate it, although it was unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary? Nah, man. We were just saying thank you for helping us with the tree. It meant a ton to Sammy,” Dean reassures.

The way Dean seemed happier when he talked about his brother made Castiel feel warm inside. He could relate so well, what with Anna being his only close sibling. She’s Castiel’s best friend and it seems as though Sam and Dean have a similar relationship. It was just nice to see something like that out in the world.

“You’re welcome, Dean. Tell Sam that I was just doing my job, but I appreciate the thanks,” Castiel responds. “Based on the picture that you sent along, the tree looks really great in your home.”

Dean chuckles lightly, but answers shortly after, laughter still in his speech. Castiel couldn’t really help it; he smiled too.

“I would hope so. It was all Jess’s idea, but guess who strung up all those God-forsaken lights?” _Jess? Who is Jess?_ Castiel is torn between asking those very questions and just keeping his mouth shut. He figures he should probably not even bother asking.

Castiel wiggles around in his bed, suddenly uncomfortable, but he’s not sure why.  He gets up to pace around his room before answering Dean.

“I would guess that you did it,” Castiel finally says. Now Dean full out laughs and Castiel is positively mesmerized by it.

“That was a rhetorical question, Cas. Of course it was me. The whole time Sam was playing with his dumb puppy and laughing at me while his girlfriend directed me on how to hang the garland ‘just so’.” Castiel lets out a little sigh of—what?—relief? So, Jess was Sam’s girlfriend. It was nice to not be so confused on that matter anymore.

“Oh, garland is not that hard. It’s a Christmas tree, not an art project,” Castiel answers, a little more at ease in the conversation.

“Exactly! Y’know what, Cas? I like you. We think alike,” Dean exclaims. Castiel blushes lightly and gives a silent prayer of thanks that he’s only talking to Dean on the phone. This conversation could’ve ended very badly had they been talking in person.

“Well, thank you, Dean. But, uh, I think I should get going before I waste up all your time,” Castiel states a little woefully. He enjoys talking with Dean, but he really doesn’t want to bug him too much.

Again, Dean is not exactly Castiel’s friend just because he and his brother sent a thank you package. He just can’t push himself on these people, no matter how badly he wants to be friends. If he pushes, they’ll back off and Castiel doesn’t want that.

“No, wait--,” Dean begins. He then clears his throat and takes in a big breath that is audible through the phone. Castiel waits for him to finish what he was going to say, but Dean just keeps breathing in, breathing out. “Would you want to maybe, uh, grab dinner with me sometime?”

Castiel stops breathing for a millisecond before his mind starts racing. _Dinner? With Dean? With or without Sam? Will Jess be attending? When?_ This is so different from how Castiel had pictured this conversation. It was just supposed to be a quick thank you and a goodbye. Now look where they were.

Castiel takes a deep breath while running a hand through his hair. He has to think quickly so Dean doesn’t get uncomfortable and retract his invitation. He wants to go, of course, but there is so much left unanswered. Just at that moment, Castiel hears Anna’s voice in his head telling him to go for it and he plunges in, head first.

“Yes, I would like that a lot,” Castiel answers with a smile. He hopes Dean can hear how big it is because it’s really starting to hurt his face.

“Alright, cool. I’ll pick you up on Friday? At seven? Is that okay?” Dean asks. Castiel makes a mental check of his calendar and decides that Friday at seven is absolutely perfect.

“Yes, that’s fine. Uh, what should I wear?” Castiel wonders. They could be going anywhere and he wants to be prepared. “I mean, where are we going?” He really hopes this place doesn’t involve dress clothes. Castiel may like to get dressed up sometimes, but he’s rather partial to his worn-in jeans and Henleys.  

“Oh, it’s nothing special. What you were wearing the other day when we got our tree would be just fine, actually,” Dean reassures. Castiel wipes the proverbial sweat from his forehead and chuckles a little bit.

“Alright, great. I look forward to it, Dean.” Castiel is smiling again but he doesn’t care anymore. “See you on Friday.”

“Yeah, see ya Friday, Cas.” And with that the phone call ends with a click and the line goes dead. Castiel is practically grinning now as he falls back onto his bed. Twenty minutes ago Castiel never would have imagined that he’d be hanging out with Dean and possibly Sam on Friday night. It was a mere two days away and now Castiel has a lot of preparing to do. First off, he has to tell Anna about his date.

_Wait a minute… is this a date?!?_


	3. The Head Tilt Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, the moment you've all been waiting for... the big 'D'. No, it's not what you're all thinking... 'D' stands for date. Get your minds out of the gutter ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish you guys could read my notes I've made to myself reminding me of what to put in the story. They're pretty amusing and usually involve more internet slang than I would use in any other circumstance, which is odd. 
> 
> Also, sorry I suck at updating. This thing was supposed to be finished before Christmas, but time got away from me. What else is new? Well, this is good chapter and I hope you all enjoy!

III.

The Head Tilt Thing

Castiel is nervous. If this thing with Dean does turn out to be a date, it will be Castiel’s first. It’ll be his first date unless he counts that one time in sixth grade when he and Hester Jacobs went to the movies. Castiel doesn’t normally count that as a date because first of all, it was sixth grade, and second of all, Castiel’s mother was there in the back of the theater. He always shudders at that memory.

Castiel is pacing the kitchen floor, waiting for Dean to arrive, when a knock comes to the door. Castiel nearly jumps right out of his boots at the disturbance. He hurries to the door and sees Dean, of course, on the front step. He’s got his hands behind his back, which has Castiel a little wary. _Was this normal???_

Castiel pulls open the door and Dean steps into the foyer. He runs a hand over his hair to get the snowflakes out, but one hand is still behind his back. Castiel quirks his head at Dean and Dean chuckles.

“I guess that’s your thing, huh?” Dean states. When Castiel looks even more confused than before, Dean elaborates. “The head tilt thing. You do that a lot.” Castiel blushes, and lets out his own chuckle.

“Yeah, I guess I do.” The two men are left staring at each other for an indeterminable amount of time before Dean clears his throat and finally pulls his hand out from behind his back. He’s holding pine boughs that he must’ve picked up on his way from the driveway to the front door. Now Castiel full-out laughs, not at the meaning behind Dean’s gesture, but at the sheer cliché nature of it. Of course, Dean had to make it pine tree branches instead of flowers.

“Thank you, Dean. I will, uh—“ Castiel looks about for somewhere to put them. He spots a chair and brings it over to the monstrous mantle over the fireplace. He stands on the chair and sets the boughs in a criss-cross fashion and leans it against the chimney. “I’ll put them there, I guess,” he finishes as he climbs down from the chair.

“Ah, they’re perfect, just like I knew they’d be. But your decorating skills have definitely improved my humble gift,” Dean jokes. Castiel smiles and looks up at Dean, who is surveying the kitchen and living room spaces. “I’m not kidding about your decorating skills, actually. Everything looks awesome in here, man.”

“Well thank you. It certainly puts both my sister and I in the holiday spirit when our occupation is selling Christmas trees,” Castiel laughs. Dean chuckles along with him but is looking increasingly uncomfortable. He keeps rocking forward onto the balls of his feet with his hands shoved in his jeans pockets. Castiel makes a move to get his jacket which then has Dean a little more at ease.

Castiel shrugs on his tan trench coat instead of his work Carhartt, since they’re going into town, after all. It’s not the warmest thing to wear in December, but it’s the only decent coat Castiel owns and he likes it besides. He always layers his clothing when he wears it too.

When Castiel looks back up at Dean, Dean is a little wide eyed and looking him up and down. Castiel blushes and quickly buttons his coat, avoiding Dean’s searching gaze. Castiel clears his throat, about to suggest that they leave when Dean speaks first.

“You wanna head out now? Baby’s idling since I didn’t want her getting cold.” Dean rubs a hand on the back of his neck and almost looks nervous. Castiel couldn’t help but think that it was more than a little adorable.

“Yeah, I’m ready when you are,” Castiel answers. “Uh, is Sam coming along?” Dean smiles fondly at Castiel but shakes his head.

“Nah, Sammy had some homework and stuff to do. I would’ve brought along Jess, but she’s baking for Christmas and all that,” remarks Dean. Castiel can feel yet another blush creeping up his neck at the thought of having this dinner alone with Dean. _So this_ is _a date_ , Castiel thinks.

Only, he didn’t just think it; he said it out loud. Dean laughs as Castiel covers his face with his hand and tries to back track his statement. Dean is still laughing as they both head out the door, Dean first with Castiel following.

“You should probably work on keeping private thoughts inside your head.” Dean nudges Castiel in the ribs as they walk to Dean’s car. “I wasn’t really expecting it to turn out like a date, but yeah; I guess it kind of is.”

 

 

Castiel is too busy silently cursing his big, fat mouth to really realize how close he’s walking with Dean. It’s only after they break in order for Dean to move to the driver’s side that Castiel notices the absence of heat beside him. Castiel gets into the car with a faint smile on his lips, and then they’re off, pulling out of the driveway and heading down the road.

 

 

***

Twenty minutes after getting into the car, Dean and Castiel arrive at a restaurant titled The Roadhouse. Castiel quirks his heads slightly because the place looks so familiar but he can’t remember ever being here. At least he hasn’t been in his adult life anyway. Perhaps his family had once gone here when he was very young.

When Castiel looks back at Dean, Dean is looking at him with bright green eyes shining. That man could do amazing things with those emerald eyes of his. That’s when Castiel realizes that he was just doing the ‘head tilt thing’ and he chuckles. Castiel honestly doesn’t know why he does it or where he even picked it up from, but it seems to happen of its own accord.

The two men climb out of the car and head for the doors of the restaurant. Before they’ve even reached the door handle, Castiel can hear loud, guitar-heavy music coming from inside. It’s not exactly surprising that Dean is grinning and nodding his head to the music as they walk in. Castiel did spy a few tapes in Dean’s car with ACDC and Led Zeppelin written on them.

Once they’re inside, Dean stops and looks around for something, perhaps a favorite booth, and Castiel stands beside him with his hands in his pockets. This isn’t anything like Castiel’s normal environment. The place is noisy and kind of crowded and foggy with cigarette smoke, which Castiel is pretty sure is illegal. But despite all that, Castiel likes it at The Roadhouse; it’s got a certain charm, one of comfort and good times and relaxation.

All of a sudden a woman with reddish-brown hair comes up to Dean and attacks him with a hug. Castiel is taken aback a little by the woman’s lively entrance. Dean seems to be a little surprised at first too, but immediately takes the woman into his arms and laughs about it.

“Dean, my boy, how are you?” the woman asks with her hands now firmly planted on Dean’s shoulders.  She’s smiling fondly at Dean as he explains to her that he’s here to ‘grab a burger, a beer, and to hang out’. Castiel is also smiling up at Dean, so that’s when he misses the fact that both the woman and Dean have turned toward him.

“And this—this is Cas,” Dean says affectionately. The woman raises her eyebrows at Dean’s tone, but sticks her hand out for Castiel to shake.

“Well, hello there, Cas. I’m Ellen, owner of this fine establishment.” The woman, Ellen, lifts her arms out slightly as if to encompass the whole restaurant. She then offers Castiel her hand to shake and he takes it, nodding in understanding.

“It’s Castiel, actually. Castiel Novak. Dean likes to call me ‘Cas’ for some unknown reason.” Castiel lets go of Ellen’s hand and looks to Dean with a half- smile on his face. Dean looks back and kind of blushes before Ellen is pulling Dean by the hand. She’s leading him toward a booth it seems and Castiel follows.

The booth is in the back of the restaurant, away from the bar which sits in the center. Dean sits first on the farther bench and Castiel takes a spot opposite him. Ellen leans against the tall table and offers to take their coats. Dean gladly accepts but Castiel opts to keep his coat on. Ellen looks to Dean inquisitively but Dean just shrugs, then she’s gone.

“Y’know, you could’ve given her the coat; no one’s gonna steal it or anything,” Dean murmurs, surveying the restaurant. He apparently spots someone he knows because he raises his hand in a wave and gives a short head nod.

“Do you come here often?” Castiel had intended for it to be a joke of sorts, but it fell a little flat. Dean lets out a snort and answers anyway.

“Yeah, actually. I used to spend a lot of time here when I was a kid.” Dean gets a faraway look in his eyes that has Castiel curious. Just as Castiel was going to ask more questions, Ellen comes walking back up to the table. She slides right in with Castiel and sets down a beer in front of him.

Castiel looks at her with eyes squinted and head tilted. He didn’t ask for a beer, so why did she bring it?

“Y’know, once you said your name it rang a bell… Your father—he used to own that tree farm down the road a little ways, right?” Ellen wonders. Castiel turns slightly to get a better view of Ellen’s face and Dean leans a little closer, intrigued.

“Yes, he did. He’s passed now, so my sister and I take care of it.” Castiel clears his throat in order to go on. “Why do you ask?” Now he was really curious as to what Ellen had to say about his father. He hadn’t been aware of any friends of his father named Ellen, and especially not one that owned a restaurant.

“He and my husband used to be real good friends a long time ago.” She then looks up at Dean and a look of realization passes her face. “Actually, your daddy was friends with them too. They all would come in here and have a few beers every now and then.”

“Really? Huh, y’see Cas, I made a good choice in coming here tonight then.” Dean gives a little wink that really ends up with him just blinking. Castiel smiles lightly and thinks things over.

“Yeah, we were never really sure what made Castiel’s daddy stop coming around, but it was long before his sickness even. Bill always said that he was a good man, but I never really could warm up to him, y’know?” Ellen looks to Castiel with apology on her face. “No offense or anything.”

“No, none taken. My father was always a little standoffish. Maybe even a little mean, but he was my dad,” Castiel utters and shrugs. Under the table, Dean’s foot finds Castiel’s and he nudges it gently. Castiel looks at him with wide eyes, but doesn’t say anything. This was a little bit of a sore subject for him but his father has been dead for four years now; he’s gotten over most of it. Or so he hopes to overcome it all.

Ellen just looks at him with a fond smile on her face. She claps him on the shoulder as she gets up from the table and she sighs.

“Well, Castiel, I like you. Come around more often, y’hear?” Ellen walks to the other side of the table and kisses Dean’s forehead. She murmurs something in his ear that makes his face go pink, and then she’s off, weaving through the tables.

Castiel eyes Dean warily, but Dean just shrugs and clears his throat awkwardly. Castiel so badly wants to know what Ellen just told Dean, but he’s not going to be a pain about it.

So, they order their food; a burger for Dean and chicken tenders for Castiel, and they talk the night away. They talk about Castiel’s dad at first, then about Dean’s dad, but then it just spirals out of control from there. They talk about everything under the sun; from favorite animal to religious beliefs and back. Dean and Castiel talk so much that Ellen has to refill Castiel’s Coca-Cola twelve times, with the previous beer forgotten.

It’s finally official closing time for The Roadhouse when the clock strikes 1AM, and Dean is rising from the booth and stretching out. Dean catches Castiel watching that little peek of tummy as Dean’s shirt rides up mid-stretch. Castiel blushes for probably the hundredth time tonight and looks down at his feet briefly.

Dean smirks and raises his eyebrows. All of a sudden, Dean is close-- so close to Castiel. Castiel’s mouth goes dry for a moment before he’s even able to speak. And when he tries to, it comes out a jumbled mess. He coughs and tries again.

“What’re you doing, Dean?” Castiel asks, wishing simultaneously to become smaller and to close the remaining gap between him and Dean. Dean is still moving closer, right in the middle of this restaurant. Luckily everyone was gone besides Ellen, who must be in the back or something. _Please stay back there_ , Castiel thinks.

“Cas,” Dean whispers, inches from Castiel’s face. Castiel searches Dean’s eyes for any kind of answer, but all he sees are those green orbs practically glowing back at him. “I like you. You’re… different, and cool, and not to mention insanely hot.” Dean winks and Castiel can feel the redness creeping up his neck and overtaking his face.

“Dean, I—I don’t know what to say.” Castiel flounders for something, anything. “It’s the first date thing, whatever, that we’ve been on.” His face is still red but Dean breathes out a laugh that ghosts over Castiel’s face.

“Yeah, I know. Is it alright if I kiss you, Castiel?” Dean inquires, mirroring Castiel’s own head tilt. Castiel is blinking probably two times faster than normal as he looks around the room in search of Ellen. She’s still nowhere in sight and Castiel wonders if Dean told her to stay in the back room. _Sneaky son of a bitch_.  

Castiel thinks back on the whole night—whole day, really—and decides that he does really like Dean. He’s this very attractive man who has taken an interest in Castiel despite all of his weird little quirks, and Castiel appreciates that. He’d like to see where things go. Castiel nods his head and Dean closes the small space between their lips.

The kiss is strange on Castiel’s lips. He’s only ever been kissed twice, but this is totally different. It’s like fire and ice at the same time, scorching Castiel’s lips then immediately soothing them. The way their mouths work together is fascinating and Castiel would certainly like to get to know Dean’s lips a bit better.

So, in the middle of a restaurant at a little past 1 AM, Castiel Novak is kissed so fantastically by Dean Winchester that he’s sure he won’t ever forget it. He won’t ever forget this place, he won’t forget the warm feeling exploding in his stomach, and he certainly won’t forget the person he’s sharing this with. This is their memory and theirs alone, and he won’t ever forget this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much of this chapter happened on accident, but I'm so, so glad for it. Without happy coincidences and brilliant 'light bulb moment' ideas, this story wouldn't be what it is. Thank you for reading and Happy Holidays!


	4. A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel and Anna go over to the Winchester's for New Year's Eve and a good time is had by all. 
> 
> Also, Dean and Castiel snuggle. c:

IV.

A New Beginning

Two weeks after Dean and Castiel’s first date, Castiel and Anna are walking up the front steps of the Winchester house. When they reach the door Castiel knocks, Sam answers, and Castiel lets go of a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Anna laughs and cuts in front of Castiel in order to get inside and out of the snow.

“Well, happy New Year, Cas!” Sam greets once Castiel is actually in the foyer. Dean is busy taking Anna’s coat but looks up and smiles brightly when Castiel comes into the room. Castiel smiles back and he goes to hang up his coat only to be intercepted by Dean, who snatches the coat away. Once it’s hung on the rack, Dean comes back to and takes Castiel’s hands into his own, kissing each frosty finger.

After that slightly embarrassing bout of PDA, Castiel walks to what he presumes is the living room and there he sees the famed Jess. She’s gorgeous, obviously, just like Dean had told him many a time. She has this air about her that just lights up a room, and Castiel could see her and Anna becoming fast friends. Jess seems to be the type of person that his sister usually gravitates toward in most social situations.

The second thing he spots in the living room is their Christmas tree. It’s still as beautiful after about a month of it being up as it was when the brothers picked it out. Castiel walks over to the tree to inspect the needle loss and the decorations. It’s a bit ridiculous that they still have it up on New Year’s Eve, but Dean had warned him.

“Dean, I can’t believe you haven’t taken down the tree yet,” Castiel mutters as Dean comes up to stand beside him. Dean’s eyes grow soft and he looks sideways at Castiel.

“I told you… We kept it up so you could see it in person.” By this time Dean’s blushing and Castiel is grinning about as wide as he can bear it. “And for Anna to see of course,” Dean finishes as he turns around to face the rest of the room.

Castiel turns back around too, just in time to see Jess bringing out all sorts of snacks with Sam trailing close behind with TV trays. On the platters Castiel spies ham and cheese roll ups and Cool Ranch Doritos and he’s already making a beeline for the food. Dean laughs at Castiel’s eagerness but follows him nonetheless.

Once he’s got a plate with food piled onto it, Castiel settles into one of the big brown leather chairs and softly groans at how comfy it is. Dean makes a surprised face but doesn’t say anything. Castiel could see that his face is getting a little pink and wonders if Dean’s already had a few drinks. It’s totally possible; that man drinks more than Castiel does every single time they’re together.

Castiel looks up to see Anna and Jess deep in conversation, sitting on the love seat and heads bent toward one another. Sam is still picking up food and setting it on his plate until he turns to see that Jess is already occupied. His face screws up and he looks a little sad, but he settles for the couch and gets comfortable.

Since it’s only nine o’clock, the group elects to play a board game after they finish eating. The only problem is that the two sets of siblings like to play completely different games than the other. The Novaks like to play Scrabble, Life, and Settlers of Catan while the Winchesters will only ever play Risk. Jess says she doesn’t care what they play, but that doesn’t help to calm the debate.

After twenty minutes of argument, they all settle on playing Pictionary, which was thrown into the mix when Jess suggested it fifteen minutes ago. The dirty paper plates are discarded and the group moves to sit themselves on the floor amidst the grumblings of an upset Dean. They split up the siblings, which is a good call considering probably nothing would get done otherwise.

So, for a few short hours the living room is filled with raucous game playing and drinking. When it’s eventually time for the ball to drop, everyone gets quiet and settles back into their seats. Castiel sits forward in his chair, eyes glued to the TV screen. Dean moves over to sit on the arm of Castiel’s chair and he smiles down at Castiel, skin crinkling around his eyes.

Anna is on the floor with Sam’s dog, Rufus, who keeps licking her face. Castiel feels a little bad for Anna since she’s the only one without anyone to kiss when the clock strikes twelve. Anna had told him that she didn’t care, but Castiel knows his sister and she certainly does care. At least right now she seems perfectly content to pet Rufus and drink champagne, which is good.

Sam and Jess are curled up on the couch, cuddled together and whispering to each other. He doesn’t even want to know what they’re saying. Castiel stops surveying the room to watch the TV once more. He sees that there are two minutes left and he can’t help but get excited. He honestly hasn’t been this enthusiastic for a new year and it feels nice to have something to look forward to.

The new year is about change and betterment of oneself and new opportunities, and Castiel is so ready to leap into 2014. He has Anna, and Dean, and Sam, and now Jess in his life and he’s never been happier. This is what he was missing out on with all those years of being a loner; friendships and merriment, get togethers and good food, and now he has it all. As of this moment, Castiel’s life is perfect.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven,” Dean whispers, moving slowly to crouch in front of Castiel. “Six, five, four.” Now Castiel is being pulled to his feet by an eager Dean. Arms snake around Castiel’s waist and Castiel returns the gesture. “Three, two, one.”

Fireworks go off within Castiel’s body as the kiss deepens. It’s his first New Year’s kiss and Dean is making it spectacular. Sadly, they both break off from the kiss to go about the room, wishing everyone else happy new year. Castiel bends to kiss Anna on the cheek and then moves on to do the same to Jess. Dean gives Anna a short kiss on the lips but it was chaste and nothing like the kiss he’d just given Castiel.

The two pairs of couples squeeze onto the couch as Anna takes a picture of their New Year’s Eve garb. Sam is wearing moose antlers with a cardboard ‘2014’ in the middle of them, and he’s not looking too happy about it. Jess claimed that the antlers ‘just suited’ him to which he promptly replied with a soft punch to her arm and sloppy smile.

As the camera spits out the picture, Anna shakes it and grins. She then presents it to Castiel, who takes it and passes it between everyone on the couch. The picture truly is a treasure; Sam and Jess are back to back with their hands up in the form of finger guns, and Dean is giving Castiel bunny ears that he was unaware of during the picture. The whole thing is beautiful and Castiel wishes that everyone could get a copy.

Dean and Anna trade places so that Anna could get in on the photo shoot too. That picture is equally as goofy with Sam and Jess sloppily making out and Castiel and Anna awkwardly sitting nearby, fingers pointed at the couple in mock disgust.

It’s one thirty by the time everyone is in their pajamas and ready for bed. Obviously, they’d all been drinking so no one was allowed to drive. Anna settles on the couch with an extra comforter and a giant pillow that belongs to Sam. Castiel is standing awkwardly about, watching his sister get ready for bed, when Dean peeks his head out of his bedroom.

“Pssst, Cas,” Dean whisper-shouts. Castiel quirks his head but follows when Dean’s finger bends in a gesture to beckon him forward.

“What?” Castiel whispers back, a little wary. He’s in the threshold of Dean’s room by now but Dean is still not moving to let him in. Dean keeps moving his eyes from Castiel’s face to the bed until Castiel gets the hint. “Oh! Oh, you want me to sleep in here?”

“Yes, dumbass. Now get in here,” Dean whispers, enveloping Castiel in a hug. Castiel tries to break free in order to check up on his sister, but Dean pulls him back. “Anna’ll be fine, Cas,” Dean reassures. “She’s got Rufus out there with her.”

Castiel nods his head and enters the room as Dean steps aside. The door is shut and all of a sudden Castiel is being kissed. It’s softer than the one in the Roadhouse and sweeter than the one just a couple hours ago. This kiss makes Castiel’s knees go weak, but he anchors his hands on Dean’s chest to keep himself upright.

Castiel and Dean end up on the bed, sleepily kissing one another. It’s late and they’re both a little tipsy, so they opt to go to sleep. Dean pulls back the covers on the bed and the two of them crawl in. Castiel immediately closes his eyes when his head hits the pillow, but Dean nudges him.

“I’m trying to sleep, Dean,” Castiel jokes, of course he wasn’t asleep yet. Dean huffs out a laugh but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “What is it?” Castiel asks, now concerned. He sits upright again and focuses on Dean’s face.

“I’m just really glad you’re here, Cas.” Dean smiles sweetly and lays a hand on Castiel’s cheek. “I’ve been kinda lonely for years now… and going to that tree farm and asking to see the owner was the best decision I’ve made in a long, long time. It started this; It started us,” Dean whispers fervently, waving his hand between the two of them.

Castiel quirks his head at Dean and a small, soft smile spreads across his face. It’s only been a couple of weeks and already Dean is having the same feelings as Castiel has had all along. It’s wonderful to know that his feelings are returned.

“I’m really glad you came by that day too, Dean. I love spending time with you, with Sam, and I don’t want it to end any time soon,” Castiel reciprocates. “It’s been the beginning of a whole new life for me; I’m no longer just a tree farmer. I’m not lonely anymore.”

Dean moves closer to Castiel and they kiss. Castiel finds that he quite likes kissing. It’s a way of being close to a person while still maintaining boundaries. Castiel sure is not ready for any of _those_ lines to be crossed, but Dean seems to be okay with that.

Castiel breaks the kiss after a few minutes and says, “Now stop slobbering all over me and go to sleep, assbutt.” Dean full out laughs and Castiel hurries to hush him. “You’re going to wake everyone up!”

“Oh, you shut up too then,” Dean says playfully. He quickly kisses Castiel once more, and Castiel smiles despite himself. They end up facing each other with Dean’s arm encircling Castiel’s waist. Castiel scoots closer and slots his head up against Dean’s neck before falling asleep immediately.

****

Castiel wakes up to bright winter sun streaming in through the window. For a moment, he’s a little confused as to why he’s not in his own bed, but he soon remembers. Memories of last night make Castiel feel almost giddy—too giddy to be in bed all day. He simply must do something—anything—even if it means that he has to make breakfast for the whole house. Castiel would gladly cook for all of these people who have welcomed him so wholly.

He’s just about to spring out of the bed, when he sees that Dean is still there, soft snores escaping his sleeping frame. His face is soft and his mouth is slightly agape, cheeks flush with sleep. Castiel decides that this is definitely something he’d like to wake up to every morning from now on. Dean looks too peaceful while he’s asleep for Castiel to even dream about getting up now. 

With thoughts of getting up completely abandoned, Castiel snuggles back down into the covers and gets as close to Dean as he can without waking him. He stares at Dean’s face, trying to count the freckles but finding it impossible. They are quite like little stars mapped out all over Dean and Castiel would like to explore them. Maybe someday he’ll get a chance to, but for now he closes his eyes again.

Castiel is lulled back to sleep by the sounds of Dean’s heavy breathing and hopeful thoughts for the future. He hopes that these new friends, and this new relationship, and this whole new beginning will change his life for the better. After all, that’s what the New Year is about. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read this piece! It's been really fun for me to write, since I love the holidays! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. :) Have a great New Year's Day and I hope you all have a fantastic 2014!


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